“Ten, ten, ten across the board,” Beyoncé sings on her new album Renaissance as though anticipating a set of euphoric reviews. They have duly arrived. “What a gift that the year’s smartest record is also its most deep-feeling,” marvels the Los Angeles Times. For the New York Times, “the range of her voice nears the galactic”.
Superlatives and lavish praise are the rhetorical jewels in Beyoncé’s crown. They reinforce her status as Queen Bey, the dominant figure in US pop, hailed as a trailblazer for black American art and culture. Alongside the plaudits, however, her first album of new solo material in six years also brings untypical signs of fallibility.
The first stumble came when it leaked two days ahead of schedule. Her ardent fan base, known as the Beyhive, descended in angry online swarms on those who admitted listening to the leak. “I appreciate you for calling out anyone that was trying to sneak into the club early,” Beyoncé told her 271mn followers on Instagram.